2024 – Measuring the Implementation of a Dam Safety Program

Jacob Davis, Becky Ragon

Do you have a routine dam safety program that consists of inspections and evaluations, instrumentation, and emergency action planning? Do you know how well it’s being implemented? As a self-regulating agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) seeks to answer that question along with how best to optimize its program with a constant goal of continuous improvement. USACE developed a system of metrics consisting of questions and associated points to which the responses are compared to determine a percent value. This system is known as the “Dam Safety Scorecard”. It provides numerical and graphical reports of the implementation of routine dam safety activities on a per dam basis. The scorecard is not used as an indicator of the dam’s condition or its risk, although it can be used to help inform whether we consider the risk tolerable or not. It provides a uniform and consistent way of evaluating routine program implementation on a per dam basis. In addition, the scorecard can be rolled up for all dams in a district, division, or across all USACE. During this paper, USACE will present the history and evolution of the scorecard and how USACE has used this information to inform leadership and improve its dam safety program. We hope that both owners and regulators will find value in applying similar metrics to their own dam safety programs.